Mel Brooks' Yogurt-tasting Star Wars

SPACEBALLS (1987)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

I have said it before and I will say it again. Spoofs are often at their best when they mock films that take themselves seriously. The original "Star Wars" was not exactly serious science-fiction, though "The Empire Strikes Back" certainly had a darker tone. Therefore, spoofing something that was in and of itself a subtle send-up of science-fiction serials often presents a problem. Mel Brooks scored high marks with spoofing James Whales' "Frankenstein" and "The Bride of Frankenstein" in "Young Frankenstein" but that worked wonders because the "Frankenstein" films were, on some level, meant to be taken seriously. Brooks's "Spaceballs" has scores of jokes and puns and some of it is funny, but too much broad humor and yuk-yuk jokes prove how stale some of it can be amid the precious gags that work.

The movie opens with an obscenely long shot of a massive space cruiser with a sign that reads "We Brake For Nobody." We meet Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who has difficulty breathing through his mask and who intends to steal the atmosphere of the planet Druidia. He has help thanks to President Skroob (Mel Brooks), the president of Spaceball, a neighboring planet of Druidia. Of course, someone must stop him and who better qualified than Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), the stud-like space jockey and his assistant, Barf (the late John Candy), a Mog (half man, half dog), and the "Jewish princess" Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), who is not about to marry Prince Valium. There is also good old Brooks in another role as the all-powerful Yogurt who keeps saying "May the Schwartz be with you" and possesses an all-powerful ring that allows you to use the Schwartz. And how can we forget the oily, edible Pizza the Hut?

"Spaceballs" has lots of great gags. I love the shot where stormtrooper clones literally comb the desert with a giant comb. I also like the lightsaber duel where Dark Helmet keeps bumping into the camera crew. And how about the actor's doubles? Or Michael Winslow from the "Police Academy" films who can mimic all kinds of computerized sounds? And how about the priceless John Hurt reprising his role from "Alien" where his chest bursts with an alien doing a tap dance number? But the joke to end all jokes, the epitome of greatness, is when Dark Helmet and President Skroob watch a videocassette copy of "Spaceballs" the movie and fast-forward to find Lone Starr and his friends. It is a purely hilarious sequence that fits with the postmodernist movement where we are always reminded we are watching a movie.

"Spaceballs" is not a great Brooks comedy like "Young Frankenstein" or "The Producers" but it sure has its fill of clever jokes, amidst juvenile ones, to score a decent mark on the laugh meter. Suffice to say that if you are a fan of "Star Wars," you'll enjoy it more than most.